SetTimes: Corruption still rampant in SEE Countries - Poland most corrupt EU member

SETimes.com

Corruption still rampant in SEE Countries

The level of corruption remains high across Southeast Europe (SEE), Transparency International's (TI) annual survey of corruption perceptions in 159 countries suggests. According to its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2005, released Tuesday (18 October), Iceland, Finland and New Zealand are the least corrupt countries among those surveyed. At the bottom of the table are some of the world's poorest countries, including Bangladesh, Chad and Turkmenistan. The CPI is a composite survey, reflecting the perceptions of businesspeople and country analysts, both resident and non-resident, and drawing on 16 different polls from ten independent institutions. It ranks countries on the basis of a perceptions scale of 10 to 0, with 10 indicating most honest and 0 most corrupt. All SEE countries, except for Cyprus, score less than 5.0, placing them among 113 world nations, or 70 per cent of those surveyed, where "corruption pervades all aspects of public life," said TI Chairman Peter Eigen. Turkey ranks 65th with 3.5 points, Croatia takes 70th position with 3.4 and Romania is 85th with 3.0. Turkey, which scored 3.2 in last year's CPI, was listed among a number of countries and territories that have shown "noteworthy improvements". Compared to the 2004 index, Bulgaria's score this year is 0.1 points lower, while those of Croatia and Romania are both 0.1 points higher. Finland is the least corrupt, followed closely by Denmark and Sweden. According to the report, Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic and Poland have performed relatively poorly and "show little or no sign of improvement". Poland is listed as the most corrupt EU Member. This could weaken the credibility of the EU in the fight against corruption in its new members and in countries proposed for accession. However, countries that are involved in the accession process show more positive signs than countries that are not. Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia and Romania are the best performers in the non-EU South and Eastern European countries.